[meta] About Tezuka
I like Tezuka.
You're probably asking yourself why. "He doesn't have a personality," you might think or "he's so boring," or "what's so great about him? He's hurt all the time."
It's honestly because he's kind of a pretentious asshole.
Sure, he's great at tennis and apparently really smart, but let's be honest. He's a self-righteous, egotistic, control freak. Add in his martyr tendencies, being patronizing, and his stoic personality to that and you have all the ingredients for an incredibly polarizing figure.
Putting aside looks, there is a great deal wrong about Tezuka. Here's the thing. Tezuka is good at tennis. Damn good. So good in fact that a good fucking majority of the main characters in the series have a mindset to defeat him and only two do: Atobe and Sanada, who each have their own issues, but that's something else. *
That said...
1) If not for Tezuka, Echizen wouldn't have been able to participate in the ranking matches. Even though this clearly conflicts with his personal rule of "no freshman can participate in the ranking matches or be a regular."
He's a hypocrite.
2) The whole incident with the upperclassman hitting him in the elbow because he played with his non-dominant hand is ridiculous. Tezuka didn't deserve it -- the upperclassman was an incredibly poor sport about being shown up -- but withholding his true abilities was unnecessary. It's never explained why he felt like he needed to do that.
He's shortsighted, cocky, underhanded. **
3) Breaking the promise to Oishi by immediately quitting says two things loud and clear: it's Tezuka's way or the highway and that he doesn't particularly hold a lot of value in keeping promises, especially to those he doesn't know that well or very long.
He's not that trustworthy.
4) It is mentioned in the series somewhere that Tezuka has, in the past, corrected teachers in class when they are incorrect. It is shown that the teachers look almost fearful when Tezuka talks, for fear that he is about to point out a mistake. I can't quite tell if he does this for the betterment of himself and his classmates or if he just wants to belittle the teacher. Regardless, it seems unnecessary. He could point out the errors after class.
He's not always the best with social cues. ***
5) When the doctor told Tezuka he was free to return to competition, he also told him not. to. play. long. matches. The first damn thing Tezuka does is play a long match against Atobe, completely and utterly fucking up his shoulder and for what? To prove to Echizen that there is meaning to tennis. That there is strength in defeat. Everyone is shocked that Tezuka would go to such lengths, except Tezuka himself.
He's purposefully reckless.
6) In Kyushu, he undergoes extensive and intense physical therapy so that he can continue to play tennis for the singular goal of "Seigaku winning Nationals." He gets so stressed out that he gives himself the yips (similar, but not as all-encompassing as Yukimura's move) and then loses to people he, under normal circumstances, could defeat easily. Even after he's broken himself of it, he's still in need of reinforcement.
He's weak.
7) During the Nationals tournament, it becomes very apparent that Seigaku winning isn't the only thing driving Tezuka. It feels like he needs to reinforce the reason why everyone and their brother wants to defeat him. During the semi-finals against Shitenhouji, Inui and Zaizen back away to let Chitose and Tezuka basically play a singles match, only participating when necessary. As Chitose used the Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami, it isn't hard to tell that Tezuka is more than a little irked about that. What does Tezuka do to combat this? He takes the Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami and plays until he can do one better: by unlocking Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami himself and using both to trump Chitose and nullify the Shitenhouji player's ability.
He feels a desire to belittle his opponents to prove he's better than them.
8) At U-17, when everyone is asked to pick a partner, Tezuka pairs up with Kaidou in a similar fashion to Atobe and Hiyoshi. Buchou vs the heir apparent. After that is where the similarities end. Hiyoshi sees his match against Atobe as gekokujou. Kaidou sees his as a teaching lesson. Tezuka wastes no time going into Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami and Kaidou is left to run around the court to defend. Tezuka even asks him if that's all he has (in terms of ability, strength, endurance, etc) and purposefully extends the match. Kaidou even thinks that Tezuka is trying to make a fool out of him and tries one last time to fight back, only for Tezuka to end it right then with a Zero Shiki Drop Shot. Kaidou laughs, but it feels unclear as to what Tezuka was trying to do other than win whereas with Atobe, he was dragging Hiyoshi into a long match because endurance/stamina are Hiyoshi's weaknesses.
He's stubborn and patronizing.
9) During the match with Yamato, Tezuka finally unlocks the last door to Muga no Kyochi, Teni Muhou no Kiwami because Yamato (being the benevolent former buchou that he is) reminds Tezuka that he's fulfilled his duty as Seigaku's pillar. After he comes to fully realize this, Tezuka plays for himself and wins. ...Then he decides to up and leave camp to go to Germany so he can train to go pro.
He's selfish and willing to abandon his obligations once they have outlived their usefulness to him.
10) Tezuka can be passionate under the right circumstances. He's incredibly confident, which shows in the almost near-blind devotion Seigaku has for him, but he doesn't reciprocate those feelings for them. It feels as though allowing himself to have emotions or show that he cares will somehow be a detriment to him. He also has a tendency to purposefully detach himself from his peers, lest he get attached.
He's immature.
--
* I'm not counting the match against Fuji as a loss because Tezuka didn't really put up a fight since he was injured. Fuji called him out on this because it basically meant that Tezuka let Fuji win and that pissed Fuji off (rightfully so).
** I don't think it's fair to compare Yukimura and Tezuka's love of tennis. Tezuka wanting to quit the club doesn't mean he is quitting tennis and it's rather short-sighted for anyone to think that he would. He obviously played tennis outside of school, so quitting the club at Seigaku would just mean he would have to continue training outside of it. Considering his abilities at that time, there was little really keeping him in the club after the incident in the first place. Yamato was it (and probably because Tezuka had to be a part of some school club.) If Tezuka didn't love tennis, why would he want to go pro? He'd have a mindset similar to Kawamura in that after third year, he wouldn't really play anymore.
*** Which is strange given that he is Student Council President. I take this to mean he's popular among his year, despite his personality.
(I originally posted this at http://fulminata.dreamwidth.org/295420.html.)
You're probably asking yourself why. "He doesn't have a personality," you might think or "he's so boring," or "what's so great about him? He's hurt all the time."
It's honestly because he's kind of a pretentious asshole.
Sure, he's great at tennis and apparently really smart, but let's be honest. He's a self-righteous, egotistic, control freak. Add in his martyr tendencies, being patronizing, and his stoic personality to that and you have all the ingredients for an incredibly polarizing figure.
Putting aside looks, there is a great deal wrong about Tezuka. Here's the thing. Tezuka is good at tennis. Damn good. So good in fact that a good fucking majority of the main characters in the series have a mindset to defeat him and only two do: Atobe and Sanada, who each have their own issues, but that's something else. *
That said...
1) If not for Tezuka, Echizen wouldn't have been able to participate in the ranking matches. Even though this clearly conflicts with his personal rule of "no freshman can participate in the ranking matches or be a regular."
He's a hypocrite.
2) The whole incident with the upperclassman hitting him in the elbow because he played with his non-dominant hand is ridiculous. Tezuka didn't deserve it -- the upperclassman was an incredibly poor sport about being shown up -- but withholding his true abilities was unnecessary. It's never explained why he felt like he needed to do that.
He's shortsighted, cocky, underhanded. **
3) Breaking the promise to Oishi by immediately quitting says two things loud and clear: it's Tezuka's way or the highway and that he doesn't particularly hold a lot of value in keeping promises, especially to those he doesn't know that well or very long.
He's not that trustworthy.
4) It is mentioned in the series somewhere that Tezuka has, in the past, corrected teachers in class when they are incorrect. It is shown that the teachers look almost fearful when Tezuka talks, for fear that he is about to point out a mistake. I can't quite tell if he does this for the betterment of himself and his classmates or if he just wants to belittle the teacher. Regardless, it seems unnecessary. He could point out the errors after class.
He's not always the best with social cues. ***
5) When the doctor told Tezuka he was free to return to competition, he also told him not. to. play. long. matches. The first damn thing Tezuka does is play a long match against Atobe, completely and utterly fucking up his shoulder and for what? To prove to Echizen that there is meaning to tennis. That there is strength in defeat. Everyone is shocked that Tezuka would go to such lengths, except Tezuka himself.
He's purposefully reckless.
6) In Kyushu, he undergoes extensive and intense physical therapy so that he can continue to play tennis for the singular goal of "Seigaku winning Nationals." He gets so stressed out that he gives himself the yips (similar, but not as all-encompassing as Yukimura's move) and then loses to people he, under normal circumstances, could defeat easily. Even after he's broken himself of it, he's still in need of reinforcement.
He's weak.
7) During the Nationals tournament, it becomes very apparent that Seigaku winning isn't the only thing driving Tezuka. It feels like he needs to reinforce the reason why everyone and their brother wants to defeat him. During the semi-finals against Shitenhouji, Inui and Zaizen back away to let Chitose and Tezuka basically play a singles match, only participating when necessary. As Chitose used the Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami, it isn't hard to tell that Tezuka is more than a little irked about that. What does Tezuka do to combat this? He takes the Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami and plays until he can do one better: by unlocking Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami himself and using both to trump Chitose and nullify the Shitenhouji player's ability.
He feels a desire to belittle his opponents to prove he's better than them.
8) At U-17, when everyone is asked to pick a partner, Tezuka pairs up with Kaidou in a similar fashion to Atobe and Hiyoshi. Buchou vs the heir apparent. After that is where the similarities end. Hiyoshi sees his match against Atobe as gekokujou. Kaidou sees his as a teaching lesson. Tezuka wastes no time going into Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami and Kaidou is left to run around the court to defend. Tezuka even asks him if that's all he has (in terms of ability, strength, endurance, etc) and purposefully extends the match. Kaidou even thinks that Tezuka is trying to make a fool out of him and tries one last time to fight back, only for Tezuka to end it right then with a Zero Shiki Drop Shot. Kaidou laughs, but it feels unclear as to what Tezuka was trying to do other than win whereas with Atobe, he was dragging Hiyoshi into a long match because endurance/stamina are Hiyoshi's weaknesses.
He's stubborn and patronizing.
9) During the match with Yamato, Tezuka finally unlocks the last door to Muga no Kyochi, Teni Muhou no Kiwami because Yamato (being the benevolent former buchou that he is) reminds Tezuka that he's fulfilled his duty as Seigaku's pillar. After he comes to fully realize this, Tezuka plays for himself and wins. ...Then he decides to up and leave camp to go to Germany so he can train to go pro.
He's selfish and willing to abandon his obligations once they have outlived their usefulness to him.
10) Tezuka can be passionate under the right circumstances. He's incredibly confident, which shows in the almost near-blind devotion Seigaku has for him, but he doesn't reciprocate those feelings for them. It feels as though allowing himself to have emotions or show that he cares will somehow be a detriment to him. He also has a tendency to purposefully detach himself from his peers, lest he get attached.
He's immature.
--
* I'm not counting the match against Fuji as a loss because Tezuka didn't really put up a fight since he was injured. Fuji called him out on this because it basically meant that Tezuka let Fuji win and that pissed Fuji off (rightfully so).
** I don't think it's fair to compare Yukimura and Tezuka's love of tennis. Tezuka wanting to quit the club doesn't mean he is quitting tennis and it's rather short-sighted for anyone to think that he would. He obviously played tennis outside of school, so quitting the club at Seigaku would just mean he would have to continue training outside of it. Considering his abilities at that time, there was little really keeping him in the club after the incident in the first place. Yamato was it (and probably because Tezuka had to be a part of some school club.) If Tezuka didn't love tennis, why would he want to go pro? He'd have a mindset similar to Kawamura in that after third year, he wouldn't really play anymore.
*** Which is strange given that he is Student Council President. I take this to mean he's popular among his year, despite his personality.
(I originally posted this at http://fulminata.dreamwidth.org/295420.html.)